Control of combustion system emissions

ABSTRACT

A process for capturing undesirable combustion products produced in a high temperature combustion system in which a carbonaceous fuel is utilized. Very finely sized particles of alkaline earth carbonates or hydroxides, with or without added ground ash, are provided in slurry form, are dried and milled to provide unagglomerated, sub-micron-sized particles that are injected along with pulverized coal into the high temperature combustion zone of a furnace. The particles capture and neutralize the gases that result in condensable acids, including SO x , NO x , HCL, and HF, as well as capturing toxic metals that are present in the combustion products, they mitigate ash fouling and slagging, and they facilitate economic heat exchange that permits fuel savings and recovery of water for use in other processes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/135,440, filed on Jul. 5, 2011; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/151,131, filed on May 3, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,971,540 82, which issued on Jul. 5, 2011; which is a continuation of International Application Serial No. PCT/US2006/043219, filed on Nov. 6, 2006, and which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/733,936, filed on Nov. 5, 2005, and from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/789,979, filed on Apr. 7, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to processes for improved operation of coal-fired and other carbonaceous fuel-fired industrial and electrical utility boilers, incinerators, kilns, and high temperature combustion reactors. More particularly, the present invention relates to cost-effective processes for reducing undesirable and noxious stack emissions from coal-fired and other carbonaceous-fuel-fired combustion systems, for reducing the fouling of combustion system components, for reducing the emissions of acid and of greenhouse gases (GHG's), CO₂ and H₂O, and for reducing corrosion within such combustion systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

In coal-fired power generating plants, as well as in other industrial processes involving the combustion of carbonaceous fuels, a number of the products of the combustion process include compounds that have an adverse influence on boiler operation, or the compounds are environmentally undesirable and the discharge of which into the environment is subject to environmental regulations. Such compounds include sulfur oxides (SO_(x)), nitrogen oxides (NO_(x)), hydrochloric acid, and such heavy metals as mercury, arsenic, lead, selenium, and cadmium. Additionally, a significant number of nations, including the European Union and Japan, have taken steps to further limit the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Similar steps have been proposed in the United States but are currently being implemented by few of the 50 states. Water vapor is also perceived to be a GHG, but to date there have been no proposals to regulate emission levels.

In order to meet environmental limitations affecting the discharge into the atmosphere of the most prevalent of the most widely regulated compounds, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and sulfur trioxide (SO₃), combustion products from such plants and processes are commonly passed through capital-intensive flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems, which are downstream from the furnace and tend to be economically feasible only on newer, larger combustion systems. The treatment of flue gases to capture SO₂ and SO₃ is often effected in lime- or limestone-based wet scrubbers, in which lime or limestone slurries are introduced into the flue gas stream to contact the flue gases before they are discharged into the atmosphere. The SO₂ is, and SO₃ can be chemically converted in the scrubbers into insoluble calcium compounds in the form of calcium sulfites or calcium sulfates. The SO₂ and SO₃ contained in such combustion products are converted into less-environmentally-harmful compounds that either are disposed of in landfills, or, when suitably modified or treated, are sold as marketable chemicals as a result of their conversion into marketable gypsum. Interest in exploration of “dry scrubbers” is increasing because the wet systems produce a liquid by-product stream that requires treatment before discharging. The dry systems are somewhat less capital intensive than wet processes and treat the flue gas upstream of the dust collectors.

Although useful for converting some of the sulfur oxides, the widely used types of wet lime/limestone scrubbers are not very effective in capturing the 1% to 1.5% of the sulfur in the fuel that is transformed during the combustion process into gaseous sulfur trioxide (SO₃), most of which can escape from the scrubbers. The SO₃ that is generated poses operating problems within the boiler itself, in that it leads to corrosion and fouling of low temperature heat exchange surfaces. And the SO₃ that is discharged from the furnace poses environmental problems in that unless it is captured or transformed, the SO₃ results in a persistent, visible plume in the form of a corrosive and a potentially hazardous sulfuric acid mist. The historic solution to the SO₃ operational problems has been to minimize them by discharging the flue gas at temperatures above the acid dew point, in the 300° F. to 360° F. range, which because of the higher flue gas discharge temperature involves not utilizing as much as 7% of the energy in the fuel.

Further complicating the SO₃ capture problem, selective catalytic reactors (SCR's), which are installed primarily in the larger, newer plants to comply with nitrogen oxide emission regulations, essentially cause a doubling of the amount of SO₃ that is generated. Consequently, the already serious operational and environmental problems caused by the presence of SO₃ are magnified. Further, a new fouling problem is created by the SCR's in the form of sticky ammonium bisulfate deposits. In that regard, it is the slight excess of NH₃ used within the SCR's to eliminate NO_(x) that reacts with the SO₃ to form the sticky ammonium bisulfate. The historically applied solution for minimizing SO₃ by discharging the flue gases above the acid dew point also results in the emission of additional CO₂, a greenhouse gas, the discharge of which is regulated in some parts of the nation and the world. The consequence of that higher flue gas discharge temperature solution for minimizing the SO₃ problems is the burning of as much as 7% more fuel to generate useful energy.

The SO₃ emission problem has been addressed chemically using a variety of alkaline chemicals (wet and dry), including lime hydrate, limestone, MgO, Mg(OH)₂, and Trona, that are injected into the system at different intermediate and downstream points in the flue gas flow path. For example, lime or limestone injected near the exit of the radiant furnace to capture SO₂ can be effective in capturing essentially all of the SO₃, because such a large excess of lime or limestone is needed to scavenge the SO₂, and because the SO₃ is more readily captured by those chemicals. Although the MgO and Mg(OH)₂ are effective in capturing SO₃, they are ineffective in scavenging SO₂ in the gas stream.

The unfavorable particle collection efficiency in the electrostatic precipitators when −325 mesh lime or limestone is injected at the boiler exit is a result of the poor electrical properties of unreacted CaO. The presence of unreacted CaO results from the high stoichiometric ratios of the treatment chemicals that are needed when utilizing the relatively coarse −325 size reagent powders. The same particulate collection and discharge problem is also encountered when lime or lime hydrate is injected in powder form into the lower temperature region of the flue gas path downstream of the furnace. On systems including scrubbers for capturing particulates, the precipitator problem can be circumvented by injecting the lime downstream of the precipitator. However, the downstream distribution of the relatively coarse −325 mesh powders results in relatively inefficient SO₃ capture, necessitating dosage at several times stoichiometric. Further, the injection downstream of the ESP of slurries that include those particles increase particulate emissions from the plant and pose serious problems due to insufficient drying conditions and the consequent buildup of deposits in the flue gas ducts, because the low temperatures at that point do not provide the evaporative driving force that is needed to quickly flash off the water from the slurry,

Sodium compounds, such as the bisulfite, carbonate, bicarbonate and carbonate/bicarbonates (Trona) compounds, have also been injected into the cooler regions of the system to capture SO₂, and are also effective in SO₃ capture. However, they pose material handling, ash disposal, and potential deposit problems. They also tend to have poor utilization efficiencies, which are somewhat improved when they are ground to finer (−400 mesh) particle sizes. The relatively coarse particles are prone to form an outer sulfate shell, thereby inhibiting utilization of the unreacted chemical inside the shell. Additionally, grinding of such materials to finer particle sizes is expensive, and it creates storage and handling problems because of the fineness and hygroscopic nature of the particles. Ash disposal issues also arise because of the solubility of sodium compounds, and in some cases steps to insure containment in the disposal ponds may be required.

To avoid contributing to in-furnace slagging problems the sodium-based additives are only applied downstream. However, the commercial −325 mesh limestone powders that are generally utilized, which have a median particle size of about 20 microns when injected into the upper furnace, tend to magnify boiler tube ash deposit problems, and they also increase the quantity of particulates that are discharged from the boiler and that can escape through the electrostatic precipitators (ESP's). The deposit problems are the result of the 20 micron-size particles impacting the boiler tubes and other furnace inner surfaces, while the finer particles, about 5 micron size or finer, are carried by the flowing combustion gas and tend to flow around the boiler tubes, thereby avoiding impact with and bypassing the boiler tubes.

Commercially available, but relatively expensive, oil-based magnesium additives can also be effective in SO₃ capture. In that regard, one of the most effective chemical techniques for controlling both ash-related fouling in the boiler, and also the corrosion and emission problems associated with SO₃ generated in solid-fueled boilers, is the injection into the upper region of the boiler of oil-based slurries of MgO or Mg(OH)₂. That technology was originally developed for use with oil-fired boilers, in which the magnesium-based oil suspension was usually metered into the fuel. It was later applied to coal-fired boilers. The most widely accepted mode of application of such additives today is by injection of slurries of MgO or Mg(OH)₂ into the boiler just below the region at which a transition from radiant heat transfer to convective heat transfer occurs. Though very effective for SO₃ capture when injected into the furnace, the magnesium compounds have little affinity for SO₂, and they are therefore not very useful for scavenging SO₂ within the furnace.

Although magnesium compounds are not effective for SO₂ capture, calcium compounds can serve as effective scavengers of both SO₂ and SO₃. Because both of the alkaline earths can be helpful in dealing with fouling, the resulting magnesium sulfate deposits are more soluble than their calcium counterparts, and are therefore easier to remove. Thus, the magnesium compounds are more widely used for addressing slagging and fouling. The deposit removal advantage of the magnesium compounds is lost when the more effective calcium reagent for SO_(x) scavenging is of very fine form, because more of the slag mitigating reactions take place within the flue gas stream than on the boiler tube surfaces.

Another approach that has been utilized for SO₃ capture involves the use of so-called “overbased” organic-acid-neutralizing compounds of the type that are included as additives in motor oils and as fuel-oil-combustion additives. Those additives are actually colloidal dispersions of metallic carbonates, usually magnesium or calcium. When burned with fuel oil, they are effective at near stoichiometric dosage in capturing SO₃ and in mitigating ash deposits caused by vanadium and/or sodium in the oil. The colloidal dispersions are stabilized by carboxylic or sulphonate compounds and are known to provide mostly particles in the Angstrom range. Though very expensive, the “overbased” compounds are widely used at low dosages to capture vanadium in heavy-oil-fired combustion turbines. They have been utilized in SO₃ capture efforts, but there appear to have been no prior reports of their use for capturing either SO₂ or toxic metals. Although emissions benefits can be obtained by the use of the so-called “overbased” compounds, their much higher cost and their combustibility make them a less attractive option for most applications. Additionally, the combustibility of the overbased materials requires hard piping as well as additional safety devices, each of which involves increased costs.

In addition to their use in oil-based slurries, Mg(OH)₂ powders and water-based slurries have also been utilized as fireside additives in boilers, but because of their generally coarser particle size they are less efficient in capturing the SO₃. Water slurries of MgO have also been injected through specially modified soot blowers installed on oil and kraft liquor fired boilers, in which they moderated high temperature deposits but had only a nominal impact on SO_(x)-related emissions because of an inability to apply the chemicals continuously.

In addition to regulations limiting SO_(x) emissions, regulations aimed at limiting mercury emissions from coal-fired boilers have been promulgated by regulatory authorities, and proposed regulations applicable to the capture of other toxic metals are pending. A considerable amount of research aimed at finding practical techniques for capturing such toxic metals has shown that high-surface-area solids can capture a significant portion of mercury by adsorption, if the mercury is in an oxidized form rather than in an elemental form. Research was reported by Ghorishi, et al. (“Preparation and Evaluation of Modified Lime and Silica-Lime Sorbents for Mercury Vapor Emissions Control,” EPA Energy Citations Database, Document No. 698008, Nov. 1, 1999) relating to mercury capture utilizing calcium silicates and hydrated lime (Ca(OH)₂). That research emphasized the necessity of extensive surface area for reaction, which was provided by fine pores in the sorbents, but it was focused on avoiding or minimizing pore closure of the sorbents by including suitable additives. It also noted that it was necessary to minimize the presence of SO₃, because the SO₃ competes with the Hg for the available capture surface of the sorbent, and when it is present the SO₃ reduces the effectiveness of Hg capture.

Oxidants, either added to or naturally present in the fuel, such as chlorides, can facilitate the oxidation of the mercury. Although high-surface-area lime can be effective in mercury capture, the commercially available powders can be difficult to consistently deliver into the boiler. They result in operational problems within the boiler in the form of ash deposits, and they can result in increased stack emissions because of the unfavorable electrical properties of any unreacted lime. To date, the most widely accepted way to achieve mercury capture has been the injection of expensive activated carbons into the cooler regions of the boiler gas path.

Combustion systems requiring additional emission control generally fall into two broad, size-based groups. The first group includes large systems that are sufficiently new and can economically justify the large capital investment needed for scrubbers for SO₂ and for selective catalytic reduction reactors (SCR's) for NO_(x). That first group commonly encounters problems in the form of SO₃ plumes, because the scrubbers do not effectively capture that pollutant. Furnace Sorbent Injection (FSI) is a particularly useful option because it not only deals with the SO₃ plume problem, but it also captures the arsenic that can damage the SCR catalyst. It also enhances mercury capture, which would otherwise be inhibited by competition with SO₃ for the available reactive surface area, it allows lowering the flue gas exit temperatures, which can boost energy utilization efficiency, and it allows the scrubber to capture greater quantities of SO₂ in order to comply with ever-tighter emissions standards.

The second group of combustion systems includes those systems that are older and smaller, for which scrubbers and/or SCR's are difficult to physically retrofit, and that involve a major capital investment that is often difficult to justify economically. In that second group of systems, SO₂ emission regulations have been met by switching to more costly, lower-sulfur fuels. Combustion process modifications have also been used successfully to reduce NO_(x) emissions, but the resulting reduction is often insufficient to bring the systems into full compliance with the latest regulations.

As a result of combustion system modifications that are aimed at minimizing NO_(x) formation, those older, smaller systems can also generate a byproduct ash that is higher in unburned carbon. The efficiency loss as a result of the increased unburned carbon is small, typically less than about 0.5% of the fuel carbon, but if the amount of unburned carbon in the ash is too high (>5% of the ash), the ash becomes unmarketable, thereby converting a potential revenue stream from the sale of ash into an expenditure for ash disposal. Considerable work has gone into efforts to optimize the burners of such systems, but with only limited success. The present inventor has published data showing a significant reduction in unburned carbon when a large number of fine magnesium oxide particles are produced by injecting submicron magnesia into the superheater region of the upper furnace, both with and without ash reinjection (“Effectiveness of Fireside Additives in Coal-Fired Boilers,” Power Engineering, pages 72-76, April 1978). The treatment rates were sufficient to treat only SO₃, and similar results would be expected with similarly sized calcium or aluminum compounds.

Some of the smaller, older combustion systems tend to use selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), which utilize reactions similar to those of the SCR's by using ammonia or an amine, but without the catalysts. Both of those control technologies result in a small amount of ammonia in the flue gas downstream of the SNCR or SCR systems, and the ammonia can react with the SO₃ that results either from the combustion process or from catalysis by the SCR itself, to form low-melting-point ammonium bisulfate, which can foul air preheaters that are further downstream in the flue gas flow path. The ammonium bisulfate problem can be mitigated by the injection of fine calcium compounds at various points upstream of the air heater.

Both groups of combustion systems are likely to be required to conform with additional regulations that require the capture of trace quantities of toxic metals. Despite gas scrubbing, the scrubber/SCR-equipped systems that utilize higher sulfur content fuels also face a new stack-opacity problem that results from a doubling by the SCR's of the SO₂ that is catalyzed to SO₃ and is emitted as a visible, sulfuric acid mist plume. The acid mist in the flue gas also results in system operating problems by plugging and corroding lower temperature components of the system.

The sulfuric acid plume problem has resulted in major environmental public relations issues for utilities, as evidenced by American Electric Power Company's purchase of the town of Cheshire, Ohio, because of acid mist discharge issues from its SCR-equipped wet scrubbers. The U.S. Department of Energy has spent millions of dollars in testing various SO₃ control techniques, and a variety of acid-neutralizing systems are being installed.

The SO₃ mitigation systems utilize a variety of alkaline chemical compounds that are injected at various points in the flue gas path, typically between the furnace exit and the ESP inlet, to effect the acid neutralization outside of the furnace. Most of those chemicals, including Ca(OH)₂, Mg(OH)₂, Trona, and SBS (sodium bisulfite), are relatively coarse in particle size. The finest-sized particles tested reportedly have a median particle size of about 3 microns. However, those chemical products are difficult to deploy, they are utilized at high rates that are 3 to 12 multiples of stoichiometric, and their use involves significant costs. Although the use of furnace injection of those coarser particles as an emissions control vehicle has been evaluated extensively, most current installations feed chemicals for both SO₂ and SO₃ control in the cooler section of the system at a point downstream of the SCR's, either as powder-based slurries, or solutions.

It is likely that the remaining boiler systems and combustion systems without scrubbers will soon need to meet more stringent SO₂ regulations or face early shutdown if a practical, low capital cost, moderate operating cost, pollution control system does not become available. Those same plants will soon also be required to capture mercury and other toxic metals, as well as to deal with more stringent SO_(x) and year-round NO_(x) emission limitations.

Considerable research has been conducted on techniques for capturing the toxic metal pollutants before they can escape from the combustion system and/or damage the SCR catalyst. That research has shown that the injection at various points in the boiler, including on the coal, at the furnace exit, and at the economizer outlet, of larger-sized minerals (−¾″ to −325 mesh), high-surface-area high-porosity particulate materials, such as specially modified CaO, silicates, MgO, or activated carbon, can help to capture most of the metals. Heavy metals (Hg, Se, and As) capture has been shown to be significant when lime is injected at the furnace exit (2000° F. to 2200° F. temperature region) at twice the sulfur stoichiometric ratio, even though the surface area of the injected materials is relatively modest, of the order of about 1 to 4 m²/gm or more, and even though competition exists for that same reagent/reactant surface area by the acid-forming gases. The current regulatory focus is on the capture of mercury, and the current user focus is on injection into the cooler regions of the boiler of expensive, high-surface-activated carbon. However, the adverse operating and environmental impacts of the other toxic metals likely will lead to emissions regulations affecting their discharge, and more research into suitable scavenging reagents.

With regard to the capture of toxic metals and SO₃, the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center reported that the tiny fraction, less than about 1.5%, of sub-micron size ash particles that are present in ash have been found to adsorb SO₃ (“Formation and Chemical Speciation of Arsenic-, Chromium-, and Nickle-bearing Coal Combustion,” Fuel Processing Technology, vol. 85, issues 6-7, pages 701-726, Jun. 15, 2004). It suggested that the fraction of those particles is important for controlling the SO₃ problem. The addition of fine alkaline materials (under 5 microns) was also mentioned. Other workers have reported that ash will adsorb toxic metals, but its low surface area leads to poor capture efficiency.

SO₂ control utilizing powdered limestone injection into the upper furnace region near the nose (2000° F. to 2200° F. temperature region), a technology known as LIMB (Limestone Injection Multistage Burner), has been investigated extensively since the 1970's. That work, summarized in a paper by Paul S. Nolan (“Flue Gas Desulfurization Technologies for Coal-Fired Power Plants,” paper presented at the Coal-Tech 2000 International Conference, Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 13-14, 2000) also reported the focus on injection of reagents into the upper furnace region, near the furnace outlet (circa 2000° F. to 2200° F.), of more-expensive lime hydrate instead of limestone for SO₂ capture. Prior bench and pilot studies had concluded that the upper furnace region would be the location “where the sulfation reactions would be maximized,” and noted that that location involved the sacrificing of additional reagent-to-flue gas contact time in order to avoid sintering of the lime particles. However, the LIMB approach has not been widely implemented because treatment rates twice stoichiometric with −325 mesh limestone powders (typical mean particle size of about 20 microns) captured no more than about 40% of the SO₂. The lime hydrate (about 12 micron median) was more effective, achieving about 65% SO₂ capture as shown in FIG. 7 of the Nolan paper, but that level of performance required a significant investment in a humidification system, boosting both capital and operating costs in terms of the energy needed to evaporate significant volumes of H₂O. It also dramatically increased the ash burden, by as much as double, and it posed deposit problems in the boiler convective pass requiring near-continuous operation of the soot blowers. It also overburdened the electrostatic particulate control devices because of the poor electrical properties of the unreacted lime.

Much of the previous research effort focused on the creation of high-porosity, high-surface-area CaO particles by flash calcination of the limestone in the upper furnace region. The failure to achieve the desired improvement in chemical utilization efficiency without introducing humidification has been attributed by EPA researchers to sintering of the CaO particles, but the current inventor's observations with a scanning electron microscope, suggest that the low utilization efficiency is most likely due to plugging of the pores of the high-porosity particles with CaSO₄, thereby reducing the accessible surface area for reaction and leaving a core of unreacted CaO. Some work with particle sizes in the 5 micron range has been reported, but that approach also has not been utilized commercially because of what is likely also to be a pore-plugging problem.

Thus far, the focus by others has been on adding excessive amounts of ground limestone (−325 mesh) having a median particle size of around 20 microns. The reason for that focus is that limestone is inexpensive, and even if one were to desire smaller particles, the normal mechanical size reduction techniques, such as grinding, for providing fine particle sizes, have all been judged by those facing the emission problem to be too expensive, and therefore were apparently not attempted as economically unjustifiable.

Some research has been conducted on what might be described as a multi-pollutant control process, by simulating the furnace injection of calcium and magnesium compounds slurried in solutions of nitrogen compounds. Theoretically, the combination would address all the emission issues except CO₂. Although the injection of nitrogen solutions to control NO_(x) is in wide use on power plant boilers, the combination with calcium slurries for simultaneous SO₂ capture has not been commercially adopted. Reportedly, the failure to do so is the result of problems with settling and plugging in the slurry injection systems. To be effective, the NO_(x) control systems inject the ammonia reagents near the nose of the furnace outlet, which is in the same temperature region called for by previous work using lime/limestone injection.

Reducing CO₂ emissions has thus far not been the subject of regulations in much of the world. Emphasis has been placed on improving efficiency of fuel use. And research on sequestering the CO₂ is ongoing, with some CO₂ captured, liquefied, and used in enhancing oil recovery. Most of the commercial SO_(x) emissions control processes for fossil-fueled combustion systems employ limestone (directly or as lime) with the net result being a significant secondary emission of CO₂. The scrubbers employing limestone on the larger, newer units are the lowest emitters (about 0.7 tons CO₂/ton of SO₂ captured) while those using lime have net emissions at least twice as high because of the thermal loss in the calciners. Because the utilization of the limestone is so poor with conventional Furnace Sorbent Injection (FSI), the CO₂ released per ton of SO₂ captured is nearly 14 tons/per ton.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide improved multi-pollutant control processes while enhancing boiler operating conditions and efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, methods are provided for mitigating high and low temperature deposits, for modestly increasing energy efficiency, for enhancing capture efficiency of existing scrubbers, and for reducing undesirable combustion system emissions, (primarily SO_(x) and toxic metals, but also CO₂ and unburned carbon). Those results are achieved: (1) by using a soluble Ca compound such as calcium chloride, calcium acetate, or calcium formate, and the corresponding soluble magnesium compounds; or (2) by preparing an essentially agglomerate-free, high-solids-content aqueous slurry containing CaCO₃ or Ca(OH)₂, or MgCO₃, or Mg(OH)₂ particles having a particle size of about one to three microns or smaller, in which the aqueous slurry can be prepared using a calcium or magnesium salt solution instead of water, to incrementally increase the concentration of the active compound; or (3) by the use of micron and submicron or nano-sized powders of solid calcium or magnesium compounds; or (4) by formulating and co-injecting dispersions or solutions to include urea for NO_(x) control, chlorides for Hg oxidation, or small quantities of alkali-type dispersants to enhance ESP performance.

As used herein, the term “lower furnace” means regions in which the temperature is from about 2500° F. to about 3000° F., and the term “upper furnace” means regions in which the temperature is from about 2000° F. to about 2200° F. Also as used herein, the terms “submicron” and “micron-sized” include particles as coarse as 3 microns and as fine as 70 nanometers.

The method of the present invention includes injecting the reagent into the boiler lower furnace at through or near the burners, where the temperatures are in the 2500° F. to 3000° F. range. Those higher temperatures serve to rapidly flash calcine the calcium and magnesium compounds to provide still smaller size calcium oxide or magnesium particles. Another benefit of injection into the lower furnace region is that it results in as much as one-third more reaction time for allowing contact of the reagent particles with the flue gas. Thus, that higher temperature, lower furnace region is the preferred location for providing improved capture of SO_(x) and of some of the toxic metals. The micron or nano-sized powders can either be blown into the lower furnace, or applied on the coal belt ahead of the coal mills, or introduced to the burners together with the pulverized coal fuel. Additionally, part of the reagent can be concurrently injected into cooler regions of the furnace to better capture other pollutants, such as HCl.

For liquid injection of the calcium and magnesium compounds, the ratio of water to solids, the point of injection, the type of injector, and the injection pressure can be selected to minimize droplet size and thereby limit the agglomeration of the resultant oxide particles. The result is to maximize the number of individual, fine calcium and magnesium oxide particles and the probability of contact of the calcium and magnesium oxide particles with the pollutants and therefore enable the capture of assorted pollutants. A preferred method of minimizing agglomeration and maximizing the number of discrete fine particles is to sequentially dry, mechanically deagglomerate agglomerates of the sorbents, and inject the sub-micron particles directly into the lower furnace region.

The slagging, fouling, and emission control benefits will be realized by simply injecting the necessary quantity of low and sub-micron reagents into the lower furnace to capture the acid-forming gases. The injection points are preferably chosen based on computer modeling of the boiler flue gas flows in an effort to optimize reagent contact with and coverage of those flows. The injection points can also be at the burner heads. Capture and removal of the condensable acid forming gases as particulate solids enables an improvement in boiler and scrubber efficiency, which results from lowering the flue gas exit temperature. Part of the boiler thermal efficiency improvement can often be achieved with existing hardware, and even greater efficiency can be achieved by increasing the heat exchange surface area and by tuning the boiler by adapting the fuel delivery and combustion air to the change in flows and temperatures to deal with the additional energy being recovered. The scavenging of condensable acids as solid particulates in the dust collector allows use of less costly alloys in the supplemental heat exchangers, and it can make the recovery of the substantial amounts of water (150 to 250 gal/ton coal) in the flue gas economically attractive, particularly in dry regions of the world.

The improvement in scrubber efficiency results from the reduction in the flue gas exit temperature, and therefore the flue gas volume, which increases the liquid-to-gas ratio within the scrubber, and also from the significant reduction in scrubber inlet SO₂ concentration. Water vapor, which like CO₂ is considered a greenhouse gas, is also reduced.

The very finely-sized calcium oxide and magnesium oxide particles that are produced within the furnace are sufficiently small that they are carried along with and follow the flow lines of the flue gas that contains the combustion products. Because of their very small size and very low weight, most of the particles act like gas molecules and flow with the flue gas around the heat exchange tube surfaces within the furnace, rather than impinging on the surfaces, as a result of which very little ash buildup occurs on those surfaces. The huge number of very small oxide particles increases the probability of collisions of individual calcium oxide and magnesium oxide particles with ash particles in the flue gas stream, which generally raises the melting point of the ash and thereby reduces the chances of the coarser ash particles being sticky enough to adhere to the heat exchange surfaces.

The present invention is also directed to:

1. the incorporation of minor amounts of alkali-type dispersants or high-melting-point alkali compounds to offset the adverse impacts on the ESP of any unreacted scavenging agents for capturing SO₂ and SO₃;

2. the addition of soluble alkaline earth halides (calcium and magnesium) to freeze-condition the dispersion and, when needed, to oxidize elemental mercury (Hg) to facilitate Hg capture. In that regard, alkali chlorides (sodium and potassium) are undesirable because they contribute to slagging and fouling;

3. when excess NH₃ is present from SCR's and SNCR NO_(x) control systems, the mitigation of ammonium-bisulfate-based air heater fouling by preferentially scavenging the SO₃;

4. the provision of a simple, low cost method to extend the operating life of SCR catalysts by scavenging the damaging toxic metal arsenic;

5. the provision of a simple, low cost method to minimize total CO₂ emissions from emissions control systems;

6. the provision of a means for recycling industrial byproducts and wastes that may be sources of energy and the sub-three-micron CaCO₃;

7. the provision of a cost effective way to restore the marketability of high LOI ash;

8. the provision of a low-capital and low-operating-cost method to upgrade older wet scrubbers to meet new, tighter emission regulations for SO₂ and SO₃;

9. the provision of a simple, low-cost method to reduce the amount of water that is evaporated in a wet SO₂ scrubber;

10. the provision of a simple, low-cost method to make an existing scrubber carbon-capture ready;

11. the provision of a simple, low-cost method for capturing SO₃ and toxic metals, and to eliminate the related visible SO₃ plume using coal ash alone, calcium compounds alone, or combinations thereof as the capture medium;

12. the provision of a dramatically lower-capital-cost system for capturing pollutants in fossil-fuel fired combustion systems than is currently commercially available with available hardware options, and one that has the potential to also fund the cost of the control arrangement through energy and operational cost savings; and

13. providing a low-capital-cost means to enhance the utilization and value of its existing and new investment in lime and limestone preparation.

In another aspect of the present invention, ash or other thermally stable minerals, particularly those with significant alkaline earth content, are ground, either dry or wet ground, to provide ash particles having a size of the order of about one to three microns or smaller. The finely-ground ash particles are injected, either alone or in combination with the alkaline earth slurries, in quantities and at locations in the flue gas path appropriate to the pollutant to be addressed, generally closer to the burners because that location provides more time for reaction of the particles with the combustion products. The injection location is not as critical for the capture of toxic metals, and their capture should be effective if injection occurs after the economizer. The use of ash is a less costly way to reduce undesirable emissions. Further, ash can be a partial substitute for calcium compounds or for activated carbon, and its contribution to overall process emissions of CO₂ is limited to that associated with the energy used to reduce particle size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure, operation, and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a photomicrograph showing the sizes of calcium carbonate particles that were employed by prior art processes;

FIG. 2 is a photomicrograph showing the sizes of calcium carbonate particles that are produced by a process as described herein for producing very-finely-sized particles;

FIG. 3 is a table showing the effect of particle size per unit weight upon the number of particles and their surface area;

FIG. 4 is a table showing particle size and surface areas for a number of commercially available hydrated limes;

FIG. 5 shows the effect of particle size on pollutant capture effectiveness;

FIG. 6 is a table showing the typical ash composition of representative U.S. coals;

FIG. 7 is a table showing a comparison of the ash composition of two lignites with wood ash;

FIG. 8 is a table showing both capture of SO₂ with various calcium sorbents when injected into a combustor at different temperatures, and the physical characteristics of the lime generated;

FIG. 9 is a graph comparing the SO₂ capture performance of 3 micron CaCO₃ powder with an unusually fine −325 mesh commercially ground limestone when injected into a 65 MW coal-fired boiler;

FIG. 10 is a table summarizing the SO₂ capture results when injecting sub-micron slurries of precipitated scalenhedral type crystals of CaCO₃, wet ground sub-micron CaCO₃, and milk of lime through several different ports of the furnace, selected based on computer modeling, of the flue gas flows in a 20 MW industrial coal-fired boiler;

FIG. 11 is a graph showing SO₂ capture as a function of Ca/S ratios for 3% sulfur coal fired in a 1 MW combustion research facility, and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing an example of one of several possible arrangements of a simple, low cost addition to a typical fuel supply system for providing to a furnace dried, reduced size, and deagglomerated sorbent particles that are intermixed with reduced size coal particles for joint introduction into the furnace combustion zone.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The processes herein disclosed relate both to improving power plant thermal efficiency and to the capture of undesirable pollutants that result as products of the combustion process of carbonaceous fuels, particularly in coal-fired combustion systems such as those employed in industrial operations or in electrical power generating stations.

Among the pollutants that are more effectively captured as a result of practicing the processes of the present invention are SO₂, SO₃, HF, HNO_(x), and HCl, along with toxic metals, such as mercury, selenium, lead, and arsenic. In that regard, references herein to “toxic metals” includes all those that are of concern to regulators.

The processes in accordance with the present invention also relate to improving power plant thermal efficiency; to reducing fireside slagging, fouling, corrosion, and unburned carbon; to enhancing the pollutant capture performance of downstream scrubbers, if they are provided as a part of a furnace combustion system; and to reducing both the overall amount of CO₂ released in the course of capturing the other pollutants identified above, and enhancing the SO₂ capture efficiency sufficiently to make CO₂ capture simpler, less capital intensive, and less costly to operate.

Gains in power plant thermal efficiency result from the reductions in slagging and fouling of both high and low temperature heat exchange surfaces, to thereby improve the efficiency of heat transfer, from the extended life of SCR catalysts, and from the utilization of heat that would otherwise be wasted by discharging flue gases that are at temperatures above the sulfuric acid dew point. Enabling the lowering of flue gas exit temperature also reduces flue gas volume, and therefore it reduces fan horsepower requirements to move the flue gases. Additionally, scrubber efficiency is increased by raising the liquid-to-gas ratio and by reducing the magnitude of the SO₂ concentration at the inlet of the scrubber.

The processes in accordance with the present invention primarily involve the injection into the high temperature combustion zone of a furnace, where the temperature is in the range of from about 2500° F. to about 3000° F., of a particulate slurry or an aqueous solution of calcium or magnesium compounds. The injected slurries or solutions first flash dry by exposure of the slurries to the high temperatures in the combustion zone to flash off the liquid, and the calcium or magnesium compounds then immediately flash calcine into very small calcium oxide or magnesium oxide particles upon exposure to the high temperatures at the injection sites. The result of the slurry injection into the combustion zone is to provide a very large number of very finely-sized calcium oxide or magnesium oxide particles that have a particle size of about 1 to 2 microns, or even finer. The calcium oxide or magnesium oxide particles are largely present as distinct, individual, fine particles, as opposed to agglomerates, and they are readily available for intercepting and capturing the undesirable pollutants. Similarly finely-sized powders can also be injected, but they can pose handling problems because of their fineness, and they require more capital intensive injection systems and more expensive reagent, unless the reagent can be shipped to the plant in a high solids slurry and dried back to finely sized powder with widely available and relative simple drying equipment as follows. The handling issues can be mitigated by surface coating with an organic lubricant such as stearic acid, which is a technique used commercially to facilitate incorporation in plastics and rubber. If circumstances favor dry rather than wet processing, one of the two methods for commercially producing the very fine, micron-size powders involve wet grinding of high solids slurries, which is more cost efficient than dry grinding to that particle size range, followed by spray drying and mechanical milling to break up agglomerates that are formed in the spray dryer.

The very finely-sized calcium oxide or magnesium oxide particles that are produced within the high temperature combustion zone of the furnace are sufficiently small so that they are carried along with and follow the flow lines of the flue gas that contains the combustion products. The huge numbers of very finely-sized calcium oxide or magnesium oxide particles that are produced by the processes disclosed herein increases the probability of collisions of the calcium oxide or magnesium oxide particles with pollutant particles and with ash particles. Because of their very small size and resulting very low weight, most of the calcium oxide or magnesium oxide particles act like gas molecules and are carried by the flue gases as they flow around the heat exchange tube surfaces within the furnace, rather than impinging on the tube surfaces. As a result of the very finely sized calcium oxide or magnesium oxide and ash particles being carried by the flowing flue gases, very little ash buildup occurs on the tube surfaces. For most, but not all, coal ashes the addition of lime will raise the melting point of the ash, which reduces the adhesion of ash particles to furnace surfaces. Thus, the higher melting point of the ash particles reduces the chances of the ash particles being sticky enough to adhere to the heat exchange surfaces, and consequently the heat transfer across the heat exchange tube surfaces is not impeded by a buildup over time of ash on the outer surfaces of the tubes.

The primary sources of compounds for providing the finely-sized calcium oxide particulates include lime, limestone, and other calcium compounds that yield calcium oxide when exposed to high temperatures. The primary sources of compounds for providing the finely-sized magnesium oxide particulates include MgCO₃, Mg(OH)₂, and other magnesium compounds that yield magnesium oxide when exposed to high temperatures. A suitable suspension of calcium or magnesium compounds in the form of an aqueous slurry can be prepared by finely grinding the solid calcium or magnesium compounds in an aqueous medium. The fine grinding can be carried out in a media mill, or in another type of fine grind mill, to subject the solids to shear forces and to thereby reduce their size, to provide a resulting aqueous slurry containing finely ground, suspended solids having particle sizes of from one to two microns, or finer. The solids in such a slurry can typically have surface areas in the range of from about 4 m²/gm to about 20 m²/gm. The dispersion concentrations can range from about 20% to about 85% solids by weight, with a preferred concentration range of from about 50% to about 75% solids by weight. Generally, a relatively high solids concentration is preferred in order to minimize slurry weight, which affects shipping expense, and to minimize the amount of water that is introduced into the furnace with the solids and that consumes heat as a result of the vaporization of the water, which heat consumption reduces the thermal efficiency of the system. For perspective, a 75% solids slurry would add about one pound of water per pound of sulfur in the fuel, which compares to 10 to 15 pounds per pound for typical moisture for coal stored outdoors.

Handling properties and site-specific operating considerations can also influence the solids concentrations that are selected for a particular application. Important attributes of the slurry include a very fine calcium or magnesium compound particle size, a substantially uniform dispersion of the particles within the aqueous medium, and an avoidance of as many as possible of larger-size agglomerates of the particles. Diluting the slurry to 20 or 30% solids is one means of minimizing agglomeration of the resulting calcium oxide and magnesium oxide particles after injection of the slurries or solutions into the furnace. Employing injection systems that deliver the slurry or solution as very fine droplets in the 5 to 10 micron range is another. Such injection equipment is offered in the form of atomizing nozzles by TurboSonic Technologies, Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., and by Spraying System Company of Wheaton, Ill., among others.

The desired very fine particle size of the calcium and magnesium compounds and the substantially uniform dispersion of the particles throughout the slurry are achieved in large volume commercial applications by grinding the calcium and magnesium compounds in a media mill in the presence of a dispersant. One type of suitable media mill is available from Union Process Inc., of Akron, Ohio. Suitable dispersants that can be utilized in the grinding process include anionic surfactants and sodium salts of a polycarboxyclic acid, or polyacrylates. Commercially available surfactants that are suitable include Acumer 9300, available from Rohm and Haas Company, of Philadelphia, Pa., or Darvan 7 or Darvan 811, available from R. T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc., of Norwalk, Conn. Dispersant concentrations in the slurry can be of the order of from about 0.20% to about 5% by weight. Acceptable results are obtainable with dispersant concentrations within the range of from about 0.25% to about 1.5% by weight. It should be noted that many wet-scrubber-equipped installations have excess wet ball mill capacity to make −325 mesh limestone slurries. That product can be an economic feed for the micron-sized slurry prepared on site by contractors with the special expertise to operate such a facility.

Another way to obtain the desired high-solids-concentration slurry that contains calcium and magnesium compound particles having sizes of from one to two microns or finer is by precipitation. Such processes are also used in large volume commercial applications. They involve the preparation of a suspension having as raw materials alkaline earth metallic hydroxide, or oxide particles that are then solubilized, as the bicarbonate, and that are reprecipitated as carbonates. The raw material can be Ca(OH)₂, as well as calcium oxide, and Mg(OH)₂ and magnesium oxide. Further, dolomitic limestone and products derived from it, such as lime or lime hydrate, as well as corresponding magnesium compounds, can also be utilized. The suspension is subjected to a flow of CO₂ gas in the presence of an anionic surfactant, or of a salt of a carboxylic acid or a sulphonic acid. The CO₂ is bubbled through the slurry to react with the suspended materials to form a soluble compound, the bicarbonate, which is then decomposed to form the ultra-fine carbonate particles.

The slurries that are commercially produced by precipitation are also converted to micron-sized powders for some applications by spray drying, followed by mechanical milling to break up agglomerates that form during the drying process. Those extra steps add significantly to the relatively modest costs of slurry preparation, and they result in powders that can be difficult to handle and feed. Even so, there may be situations where the better performance of the micron-size powders can justify the higher cost, i.e., if the application is a facility with an existing under-performing powder injection system.

Those same particle size preparation steps, involving either grinding or solubilization and subsequent reprecipitation, can also be employed to prepare nano-size particles as fine as 70 to 400 nanometers. Such particles can be employed as scavenging reagents, either alone or in combination with micron-sized products to enhance capture performance. They can be used to provide high-lime-content ash, in which the lime content is of the order of at least about 5% of the ash by weight. They can also be utilized to process industrial wastes, such as lime waste from beet sugar processing, or water softening sludges for use as a pollutant scavenger in a combustion system. Some of those materials typically have an organic content, generally less than about 10% by weight, and when injected into the furnace provide some additional heating value to offset the heat decrease associated with evaporating the water contained in the aqueous reagents undergoing calcination.

The calcined, reduced-size calcium oxide and magnesium oxide particles that result when the calcium or magnesium compounds are injected into the burner region of the furnace can be of a particle size of from about 0.07 microns to about 3 microns, preferably about 0.5 microns (500 nanometers) and finer. The external surface area of an about 0.5 micron median particle size reagent is about 40 to 88 times that of a commercially available −325 mesh (20 micron) limestone particle. The calcination of such calcium or magnesium compounds to that preferred particle size results in about 61,000 to about 676,000 times as many calcium oxide particles per pound of material, as compared with the commercially available −325 mesh material. The result of the presence of such massive numbers of smaller CaO or MgO particles in the burner region of the combustion system will be the capture of as much as or greater than 84% of the SO_(x), and up to 90+% of toxic metals, at a stoichiometric ratio of Ca/S of the sulfur content of the fuel of only about 1.5 times, or less.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are photomicrographs that each represents an area having a width of 0.44 mm, to show the vast difference in the sizes of CaCO₃ particles depending upon the process utilized. FIG. 1 shows the sizes of CaCO₃ powder particles that result from the prior art processes that produce a product that is at the fine end of the range of commercially available offerings, generally denoted as −325 mesh (typically 20 micron median size), that result from commercially-ground, powdered limestone. In that regard, the agglomerates that can be seen in FIG. 1, although composed of a number of smaller particles, are effectively single, large, relatively heavy particles. The particles shown in FIG. 1 are of a finer size (median size of 9 microns) than most commercially available ground particles, which generally fall within the 20 micron median size range. Although the surface area and the pores of such commercially available particulate agglomerates have been recognized previously, it appears not to have been appreciated that in actual practice the pores of the agglomerates get plugged by reaction products or by other, smaller particles. Consequently, the effective exposed and available outer surface areas of the agglomerates for pollutant capture purposes is significantly reduced, leaving a core of unreacted lime.

FIG. 2 shows the powder particles that result from practicing the processes described herein that provide sub-micron size particles that are essentially agglomerate-free, having a median particle size of about 0.7 microns. The very low fraction of agglomerated particles is achieved by applying both shear and dispersant chemicals during the wet preparation of the sub- and micron-size stone, and by using spray injectors designed to minimize agglomeration of the dried/calcined particles.

The SO₂ concentrations in flue gases resulting from coal combustion are typically of the order of about 2,000 ppm. But the presence of a large number of other gas molecules, roughly 500 per molecule of SO₂, tends to impede the contact of a CaO particle with an SO₂ molecule. The toxic metals to be captured, such as Hg, Se, and As are present in flue gases at much lower concentrations, on the order of parts per billion. Thus, reducing the sorbent particle size from 20 microns to 1 micron increases the number of CaCO₃ particles per pound by about 7800 times, which will significantly increase the probability of a resulting CaO particle finding and reacting with an SO₂ molecule, or an SO₃ molecule, or a toxic metal molecule in a space that is crowded with other molecules.

FIG. 3 is a table that dramatically shows the effect upon the outer surface area of the particles, and upon the number of sorbent particles that are available for reaction by reducing the particle diameter. Because the large number of very finely-sized CaO and MgO particles that are produced in practicing the present invention act like gas molecules, they are carried along with and are subject to the same movements and random motions during flow as are other gas molecules that are present, thereby increasing the probability of contact with pollutant molecules. Clearly, increasing the probability of contact increases the probability of more complete reactions and more complete pollutant capture. Moreover, the very fine size of the particles reduces the chances of a significant unreacted inner core of lime.

The data shown in FIG. 3 are significant in that they provide perspective on what can be accomplished to achieve high pollutant capture efficiency at reasonable stoichiometric sorbent dosages. Prior researchers did not deal with the fact that during handling and injection particle agglomeration results in larger particles having less effective surface area for pollutant capture. In that regard, pollutant capture is dependent upon contact between reagent particles and pollutant molecules, and it requires both pollutant molecules and reagent particles to be present in substantially the same space. Because pollutants are present in the flue gases at ppm and ppb concentrations, the probability of capture of a pollutant molecule by a reagent particle will be increased by maximizing the number of reagent particles that are present for reaction, which requires not only that the reagent particles be of a very fine size, but also that they must be delivered in such a way that agglomeration of the very-finely-sized reagent particles is minimized in order to obtain the benefits of the present invention.

Another approach to increase overall chemical reagent utilization still further is to incorporate in the milled dispersion a small quantity, less than about 5%, of overbased calcium compounds, which at 0.005 microns (50 nanometers) contain a very large number of particles per pound. The quantity added will be governed by economics and performance. Since overbased products are available in both oil- and water-based formulations, a surfactant will be needed to make the oil-based product compatible with the coarser water-based product.

The increase in available overall reagent particle surface area that results from particle size reduction, only a 40 to 88 fold increase depending on the median size of the reagent used, is not as dramatic as is the increase in the total number of available particles, but it is significant for pollutant capture performance since it is essentially all external surface area that is available for reaction. The problems reported in most of the prior work occurred where much of the available surface was internal surface area, within surface-connected pores of agglomerated particles. The pores were then plugged by CaSO₄ from the reaction of the CaO particles with SO₂, thereby preventing full utilization of the otherwise available surface area of the pollutant capture material.

FIG. 4 is a table that is adapted from a table presented in “Chemistry and Technology of Lime and Limestone,” by Robert S. Boynton, 2^(nd) Ed., 1980, at page 340, and presents the specific surface in cm²/g rather than in m²/g for 25 commercial hydrated limes (multiply by 1×10⁻⁴ to convert). That table shows the relatively large particle sizes and the relatively low specific surface values for a number of commercially available hydrated limes. Slurries of those hydrates can be reduced to the one to two micron range and de-agglomerated by employing milling of the particles and also by employing surfactants, as described above in the context of the present invention.

A further significant difference between the processes in accordance with the present invention and the previous approaches resides in the fact that the larger effective particle size of the agglomerated CaO particles that are present in the previous approaches to pollutant capture are likely to result in a significant fraction of those larger particles, having a size of over 4 or 5 microns, impacting on and thereby attaching to the surface of a heat exchange tube. As a result, those particles are effectively removed from the gas stream, and they are thus rendered less available for scavenging pollutant molecules during a significant part of the very short residence time that the calcined particles are within the upper region of the furnace. Additionally, the calcined particles that attach to the outer surfaces of the heat exchange tubes result in a coating on the surfaces of the tubes, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the heat transfer to the interior of the heat exchange tubes, and consequently reducing the overall operating thermal efficiency of the heat transfer system. In previous full-scale trials with −325 mesh limestone, operators found that to reduce heat exchange tube deposits it was necessary to operate the soot blowers nearly continuously, at a significant cost in the energy required to operate the system, and in greater equipment wear and tear.

FIG. 5 is a graphical depiction of the effect of CaO particle size on available surface area for effective pollutant capture. The larger particles characteristic of the previous approaches (shown in FIG. 5 by the upper particle) react with the combustion gases up to a point that is limited by the ultimate formation on the surface of the CaO particle of a CaSO₄ outer shell around an inner CaO core. The inner core portion is therefore no longer available for reaction with the pollutants contained in the combustion gases. The smaller CaO particles that are provided by the processes disclosed herein (shown in FIG. 5 by the lower particle), on the other hand, will result in a more complete reaction and therefore greater pollutant capture, by virtue of the exposure of the greater total surface area of the smaller particles to a larger volume of the combustion gases, because the greater number of smaller particles collectively present a significantly larger total surface area available for reaction before a reaction-limiting CaSO₄ shell is formed.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are two tables adapted from Steam/Its Generation and Use, 39^(th) edition, Section 15-2, published by The Babcock & Wilcox Company, 1978, showing the typical ash content and chemistry of some U.S. coals and lignites. They show that some forms of ash, particularly those in coals from the Western states, can be quite high in CaO. Therefore, if the ash particle size is reduced and is activated as disclosed herein, such materials can potentially be a useful and economic source of pollution control reagent, both for systems not having scrubbers as well as those having scrubbers. Clearly, reinjecting processed high calcium oxide ash would be more appropriate for injection in systems not having scrubbers, while similarly processed low calcium oxide ash would be useful to capture SO₃ and toxic metals in systems having scrubbers.

EXAMPLE I

FIG. 8 summarizes experimental sorbent comparisons that were conducted on a natural-gas-fired pilot combustor firing at about 3.7 MBTU/hr. The gas was spiked with SO₂ to provide SO₂ concentrations in the combustion products ranging from a low of 425 ppm to 1155 ppm. Limestone and lime hydrate powders were compared with calcium acetate and calcium chloride solutions. Each of the sorbents was injected into the combustor at the burner location and also at the combustor exit, which correspond to temperatures at the burners and at the combustor exit of about 2750° F. and 2200° F., respectively. All the sorbents were dosed to achieve Ca/S=2. Both of the solutions were injected using a two-fluid nozzle and captured significantly more SO₂ when injected at the burner location than did the solids in the form of powders, more than three times that of the limestone for the liquid calcium acetate and two times that of the limestone for the liquid calcium chloride. Those differences are somewhat understated as the SO₂ concentrations when utilizing the liquids were 400 ppm and 625 ppm, respectively, as compared with 850 ppm and 1,000 ppm when utilizing the powders. The probability of a reagent particle finding an SO₂ molecule in flue gas during the short reaction time that is available in a boiler furnace decreases with pollutant concentration. Agglomeration of the calcium chloride derived lime particles prevented characterization of those solids.

The lower capture results with the powders tend to support the prior work of others, which involved injection of reagent at the lower temperatures that exist at the furnace exit, although the differences between the powders are small. However, the data for both of the liquids confirms that injection of reagent at the burner region is significantly more effective for capturing SO₂. The 49.8% and 30.7% SO₂ capture values for the liquid calcium acetate and the liquid calcium chloride injected at the burner region would probably have been even higher if a better injector had been available to minimize droplet size and to minimize agglomeration. The solid lime particles were either similar to or larger than the liquid droplet size, and plugging of the pores with gypsum is suspected, but was not verified.

EXAMPLE II

FIG. 9 shows that in tests utilizing a 65 MW tangentially fired coal boiler, a 3 micron calcium oxide powder captures double the SO₂ that is scavenged by an unusually fine −325 mesh limestone (9 micron median versus normal 20 micron) at a Ca/S ratio of 2. In those tests, about ¾ of the powder was injected through ports approximately midway between the furnace burners and the furnace exit, with the remainder of the powder delivered closer to the burners.

FIG. 9 shows the SO₂ capture results as a function of Ca/S ratio when 3 micron median CaCO₃ powder was injected into a 65 MW boiler firing 1.65% sulfur coal. The boiler was equipped with a Mobotec pneumatic powder injection system. The results show significantly better SO₂ capture performance for the 3 micron-size mechanically deagglomerated powder when compared with results utilizing an exceptionally finely-sized commercial −325 mesh product. That performance difference exceeded what had been assumed as sufficient to exceed the emission control targets of 50% SO₂ capture at a Ca/S ratio of below 2. Because the best results were obtained when about 25% of the powder was injected into the furnace at the higher temperature region, adjacent to the burners, those results, along with those shown in FIG. 8, clearly support the notion of feeding of the reagent close to the burners in order to provide improved SO₂ capture.

EXAMPLE III

FIG. 10 is a table summarizing the results of a series of tests on a 20 MW coal-fired boiler burning 1.8% sulfur coal. The results are of a series of short tests with slurries of micron-size ground calcium carbonate (GCC), milk of lime, and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). The crystals of the latter reagent were of a scalenhedral form (shaped like a child's “jack”) that provides more exposed outer surface area for a given size particle, and is of a form that is more resistant to pore closing by the formation of gypsum at open regions of the crystals. The boiler was modeled for those tests, and four existing ports were chosen with the intent of feeding roughly equal quantities of the calcium dispersions through the four injection ports. Two steam-powered two-fluid injectors were mounted in the “over fired air” (OFA) ports, near the burners at the front wall, and two injectors somewhat higher at the rear wall. The rear wall locations were a compromise, because the preferred locations on the side walls per the modeling were inaccessible.

The resulting data in FIG. 10 show that the initial target of 50% capture at a Ca/S ratio of 2 could be achieved with uniform distribution of a 20% solids PCC reagent, but at a lower Ca/S ratio of 1.6. Experimentation in which about half of the reagent flow from the rear wall injectors was shifted to the OFA injectors led to the enhanced performance. That result was achieved despite the fact that the tested arrangement caused the OFA injectors to handle more than 200% of design flow, which probably resulted in coarser spray droplets, more agglomeration of the lime, and less than optimum utilization. However, when the OFA damper was opened to allow air to flow around the injector, capture performance improved leading to the conclusion that the flow had probably helped the injector deliver finer droplets. Although there is a wide range of capture shown for a given stoichiometric ratio, much of that variation can be attributed to the residual inventory of reagent in the furnace, which continued to perform even when injection was suspended. The tests with ground CaCO₃ (GCC) and milk of lime were too limited to make firm comparisons, but both appear to be only slightly less effective than the PCC.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing SO₂ capture as a function of Ca/S ratios for 3% sulfur coal fired in a 1 MW combustion research facility when injecting a 75% solids slurry of 1.4 micron-sized ground CaCO₃. The slurry was diluted to 30% solids at the injection nozzle. Particle agglomeration was minimized by dilution and by generating spray droplets under 10 microns median size, preferably under 5 microns particle size.

Further in connection with improving SO₂ capture, it is known that humidifying the flue gas ahead of the electrostatic precipitator, to bring the dew point to within about 11° C. to about 17° C. of saturation, significantly enhances SO₂ capture. The moisture condenses on the fine ash and lime particles under those conditions to yield a liquid film that stimulates the acid/base reaction. The multiplicity of finely-sized particles achieved in the course of carrying out the processes of the present invention performs that function much more effectively than those relatively fewer, large agglomerates from dry powder that do manage to continue through the system to the cooler regions of the boiler. The present invention provides a more economical approach to enhanced SO₂ capture by similar amounts, about 15%, without the energy penalty for evaporating significant amounts of water. By capturing essentially all the SO₃, which eliminates the need to discharge the flue gas at temperatures safely above the acid dew point, it allows recovery of significantly more of the fuel energy that would otherwise be lost, while also improving SO₂ capture.

Other benefits of the minimally agglomerated, very fine particle size reagent addition in accordance with the present invention include the capture of almost all of the SO₃ by the introduction into the furnace of magnesium and/or calcium compounds, which allows lowering the boiler exit temperature without encountering the fouling and corrosion of cold end equipment by either ammonium bisulfate or sulfuric acid. Further, in addition to the net increase in system thermal efficiency and reduced maintenance, the lower temperatures and reduced gas flow will enhance both precipitator efficiency and fan capacity.

As was earlier noted, utilizing the deagglomerated reagent product that resulted from carrying out the present invention reduces the potential for ash deposits in the convective section of the boiler. The dramatic increase in the number of very fine CaO particles thus also significantly increases the chances of preventing corrosive attack of the high temperature tube surfaces by semi-molten ash particles. The net effect is to make those ash particles less sticky, and therefore less prone to attach themselves to and to build up on the surfaces of the heat exchange tubes.

Additionally, utilizing the processes in accordance with the present invention will result in the dust collector burden to be about half that experienced in known processes utilizing −325 mesh lime or limestone. Because CaSO₄ is less detrimental to precipitator performance than is free CaO, the significant increase in CaO utilization realized with the present invention serves to minimize the adverse impact on the precipitator performance as compared with utilizing a larger particle size limestone injection. As mentioned above, air heater fouling and corrosion is also minimized, allowing the lowering of the flue gas exit temperature, which improves the system heat rate and also reduces gas volume to the precipitator and all downstream equipment such as induced draft fans, and existing flue gas desulfurization systems, thereby also enhancing precipitator efficiency and reducing fan power demand. The total solids burden (ash+CaSO₃ or CaSO₄+CaO) and the operating specifications of the particular electrostatic precipitator will determine if the advantages of reduced gas volumes and reduced ash temperatures are sufficient to offset the disadvantage of higher resistivity on the particular precipitator, and will influence whether supplemental dust treatment or collection capacity is needed.

While there were no negative impacts on ESP performance in the full scale boiler tests conducted to date to prove the technology, it is known that increasing the sub-micron fraction of the dust burden can have both positive and negative impacts on the operation of the ESP. Moderate increases in the number of small charged particles increase the electric field close to the electrode, which will improve particle collection of all particle sizes. If, however, the number of particles smaller than 1 micron is too large, the ESP current will be reduced to the point where charging and collection is not as effective. Thus, for any given boiler-ESP combination, a balance would have to be struck between the amount and size of the fine particles employed to capture SO₂ in the furnace while maintaining the ESP at maximum efficiency, via limiting the number of sub-micron particles to that amount that will enhance rather than inhibit particulate collection performance. Alternatively, to achieve those same positive impacts on the ESP, one can target a more optimal SO_(x) capture that can be achieved with sub-stoichiometric injection. Another alternative is to employ a commercially available ash conditioning system that agglomerates the fine ash particles. Still another option is to either supplement the ESP or displace it with a bag house. The bag house will provide additional flue gas reagent contact time and increase pollutant capture efficiency.

As discussed, the calcium and other alkaline-earth-based chemicals that are injected into the combustion zone to capture SO_(x) and toxic metal pollutants can impede the collection of particulate emissions in some electrostatic precipitators. But by slightly modifying the composition of the injected chemicals, the negative impact of the calcium-based chemicals can be mitigated, and the performance of the ESP can be enhanced. In that regard, co-injecting small amounts of some alkali compounds to counteract the adverse impacts of the calcium-based reagents was not previously recognized as an option to address that problem. Instead, the previous approach focused on providing additional systems, such as humidifiers, and ammonia plus SO₃ ash conditioning equipment, which presents retrofit problems and increases the capital costs in older systems.

As was earlier noted, in addition to improved SO_(x) capture efficiency of the furnace injection system disclosed herein, the present invention involving the injection into the high temperature combustion zone of significantly finer reagent particle sizes yields more effective SO_(x) capture at treatment ratios that are much closer to stoichiometric than those achieved previously. That allows the power plant operator to lower the furnace exit gas temperature, which decreases the flue gas volume and velocity through the ESP, and increases the particulate capture efficiency of the ESP, and/or the scrubber if there is one. The lower exit gas temperature is dependent upon neutralizing any SO₃ present in order to avoid fouling and corrosion. That temperature reduction can be achieved by heat exchange in new installations, by retrofitting the air heater, or by spray cooling in retrofits, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,211. Those changes will likely require retuning the boiler by changing the distribution of the hotter combustion air between the coal mills and the various combustion air flows, primary and secondary.

If the system temperature can be lowered, such as by turning off steam-fed air preheater coils, and by utilizing an oversized ESP, those factors together with the reduced ash burden afforded by the more efficient SO_(x) capture technology disclosed herein can be sufficient to ensure compliance with particulate emission requirements. If such temperature lowering capability does not exist in a particular power plant, spray cooling can be implemented by incorporating a humidification system and sacrificing some energy efficiency. That approach was used in the Limestone injection Multiple Burner (LIMB) demonstrations that were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and reported in the earlier-identified Nolan paper. But that technology has not been implemented, largely because of the poor reagent utilization efficiency. A better option involves providing additional heat exchange capacity to bring temperatures near the water dew point. The latter approach will further enhance the SO₂ capture by the CaO produced during high-temperature combustion zone furnace injection.

Another way to address ESP capture efficiency issues if they are encountered when injecting calcium-based chemicals involves the injection of various additional chemicals into the lower temperature regions of the boiler, rather than into the higher temperature regions. That approach serves to modify the electrical characteristics of the ash, and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,885. It includes the injection of gases such as SO₃ and NH₃, combinations of those gases, and various ammonium and sodium phosphorus compounds. However, the addition of sodium compounds to the fuel is generally discouraged because most such compounds are relatively low melting and can cause serious slagging or fouling in the high temperatures regions of the boiler. Consequently, injection of such compounds into the flue gas stream at temperatures below about 900° C. is specified. However, such additions, whether gaseous, liquid, or solid require investment in and maintenance and operation of separate feed equipment. The quantities of the various chemicals needed are generally quite small relative to the amount of ash or coal fired, i.e., in the range of about 10 lb/ton ash and about 1 lb per ton of coal, respectively, for a 10% ash-containing coal.

Ideally, the simplest mode of supplying the ash conditioning reagent is to incorporate it in or to co-inject it with the limestone dispersion at the higher combustion zone temperature. There are a number of alkali compounds capable of modifying ash electrical properties that are high melting and suitable for incorporation in or co-injection with the limestone dispersion. They include sodium and potassium phosphate (tribasic), lithium silicate, and the aluminates of all three major alkali metals (Na, K, and Li). The phosphates are believed to provide an agglomerating effect downstream to offset the resistivity modifications that result from the introduction of the calcium compounds

Another way of supplying the needed alkali to condition the CaSO₄ product resulting from the capture of SO_(x) by stone-derived lime is to employ alkali-containing surfactants, such as sodium, potassium, or lithium polyacrylates, as dispersants in the preparation of the stone slurry. The quantity of dispersant employed will vary with the solids loading and particle size of the suspension, but it should be in the range of from about 0.25% to about 2.0% of the product, by weight The amount of alkali contributed to the CaSO₄ conditioning will vary with the surfactant composition. It is likely to be sufficient to have a conditioning effect, but it can be supplemented with the other materials if more conditioner is needed.

The amount of the CaSO₄ conditioning agent to be added is in the range of from about 0.005% to about 5% of the weight of the injected stone. Because the alkalis that are the actual slagging agents represent less than 30% to 50% of the conditioning reagent by weight, the total supply of deposit formers is far less than the 3% or 4% sodium “rule of thumb” slagging threshold for boilers. Treatment rates will be dependent on the relative quantities of sulfur and ash in the fuel, the stoichiometric efficiency of the limestone, which is a function of particle size, the effectiveness of the distribution upon injection, and the design and condition of the ESP. It should be noted that from a practical operating standpoint, the quantities of alkali added with the ash conditioning agents is well below the levels at which they actually pose slagging problems, and that the CaO resulting from the stone injection tends to mitigate any slagging problems.

A further beneficial result of utilizing the processes disclosed herein is better carbon burnout because of the resulting cloud of fine, reflective CaO and MgO particles, which also allow for modest reductions in excess air, and result in reduced NO_(x) formation and improved unit heat rate. A previous report by the inventor disclosed some such benefits from the injection of a coarser, 3 micron Mg(OH)₂ dispersion, but the use of the much finer size particles and the larger reflective cloud to restore the marketability of high LOI ash was not envisioned. The reduction of unburned carbon in the ash from as much as 16% to under 5% restores the marketability of the ash.

Still another benefit of the present invention is a dramatically lower CO₂ release per unit of SO_(x) captured. The more effective sorbent utilization of the present invention reduces the CO₂ emissions when utilizing the advanced and improved furnace sorbent injection technology of the present invention to about 2.5 tons CO₂ per ton of SO₂, close to the 0.7 tons CO₂ per ton SO₂ achieved in a wet limestone scrubber. That result compares with nearly 14 tons CO₂ per ton SO₂ for the previous furnace injection approaches. Those numerical values take into account both the CO₂ released from the stone and that from the fuel that is used to calcine it. Clearly, to the extent that finely-ground ash can take the place of limestone, the CO₂/SO₂ ratio will be that much closer to that for limestone scrubbers. The reduction in CO₂ emissions achieved by lowering the flue gas exit temperature, and the other efficiency gains discussed previously, will more than offset the CO₂ increases from the use of CaCO₃.

Another difference between the invention as disclosed herein and previously-disclosed approaches is the ability to provide a truly multipollutant FSI process by grinding the stone or ash in a weak ammonium solution, such as urea, along with a surfactant, such as ammonium polyacrylate or ammonium sulfonate, to facilitate high solids loading. The inherent stability of a fine-particle-size CaCO₃ together with the reduced settling afforded by the high solids, overcomes the handling and pluggage problems that were encountered in previous attempts to combine −325 mesh stone and ammonium solutions. The addition of urea, even though in a small amount, could necessitate a substitution of ammonium polyacrylate for the sodium polyacrylate dispersant in order to assure a stable, easier-to-handle dispersion.

On FGD-equipped systems where the capture of SO₃ and toxic metals, rather than SO₂, are the primary objectives, magnesium chemicals have been preferred because they do not compete for the SO₂ pollutant, thereby permitting much lower dosage. However, very fine ash particles can be a better option than, or a partial substitute for, magnesium compounds. For those objectives, low calcium ash can be size-reduced and injected after the economizers, instead of at the in-furnace transition from radiant to convective heat transfer near what is commonly referred to as the “nose” of the furnace. The “nose” is the region adjacent to the furnace outlet, where the heat transfer mechanism undergoes a transition from radiant heat transfer to convective heat transfer, as well as the location of the superheaters and reheaters that make up the convective pass, and the economizer, where the incoming water is preheated before passing into the furnace heat exchange tubes for vaporization as steam. For purposes of this invention, the finely sized ash is injected through ports in the upper furnace wall, generally close to the furnace exit.

The above are the preferred treatment options on systems that include scrubbers, because the total quantities of reagent required for such systems are significantly less. However, those compounds do not operate to scavenge SO₂ from the flue gas stream, which instead is carried out in the scrubber. If the ash has a significant calcium content, which can be present naturally or can be added, it can optionally be introduced into the furnace combustion zone to scavenge SO₂ in systems that do not include scrubbers, or scrubbers that need upgrading to meet new tighter emission control requirements.

The preparation of suitable finely-sized ash particles is influenced by the ash chemistry, by the emissions control systems that are present, and by which pollutants are being addressed. If the plant has existing FGD capability and the objectives are primarily the control of SO₃ and toxic metals, the preparation involves withdrawing a small fraction of the total ash, less than about 5%, from the collection hoppers, passing it through a jet mill or other type of mill to reduce the particle size of the ash to a micron or less, and then discharging the mill output back into the boiler or ducts. The solubilization and reprecipitation size reduction technique can also be applied to process the high lime fraction of high calcium content ash, either with or without wet milling of the insoluble component.

The quantity of ash that is of reduced particle size can be small because the SO₃ and toxic metals concentrations in the flue gas stream are in the low ppm range, and also because reducing a 20 micron particle to 0.5 micron size increases the number of particles by more than 61,000 times and also multiplies the surface area by a factor of 40. Because the increase in ash burden is small, the impact on the performance of the particulate control device will generally be manageable. Media mills (wet or dry) are viable alternatives to the jet mill, which can be powered by steam or air. In many instances, a steam-powered jet mill is preferable to a compressed air system because steam is readily available and is less expensive at a power plant, and also because the moisture injected would enhance acid adsorption and help ESP performance. Wet systems are slightly more cumbersome and could pose a very minor heat rate penalty.

The results of utilizing the finely-sized particles provided by the present invention include a dramatic increase in ash particles, and consequently in ash surface area, thereby providing enhanced adsorption of the SO₃ and of toxic metals. That result is achieved at a low energy cost and at a relatively low capital investment, while simultaneously eliminating or significantly reducing the need for purchased chemicals. Increased ash surface area will not only enhance SO₃ adsorption, it will also stimulate more acid neutralization as a result of the alkaline materials present in the ash. In the few instances where the adsorbed acid inhibits constructive use of the ash, adding a modest limestone supplement to the mill input material would suffice in mitigating the issue. Costs can be offset or converted into a net benefit because the capture of the SO₃ will reduce corrosion and fouling, and will make it feasible to lower the air heater exit temperature, thereby increasing fuel efficiency.

Grinding ash from the economizer hopper, or bottom ash, is preferable to utilizing ash from the precipitator hopper, because the economizer ash is less likely to have accumulated adsorbed pollutants, which avoids recirculation of contaminated ash and potential increase of pollutant concentrations in the flue gas stream. For power plants without high efficiency FGD systems, the ground ash can be injected into the furnace region to scavenge SO₂ if the ash has a significant CaO content. For example, a 1% sulfur-content coal with about 10% ash having a CaO content of about 12.5% would provide about 70% of the stoichiometric quantity that would be needed. Thus, many Midwestern coals with below stoichiometric CaO levels in the ash can still be beneficial, while Western coals with high CaO content could be more useful if they were readily available.

Previous efforts at capturing undesirable pollutants have focused on adding purchased chemicals that have or yield a high surface area needed to absorb the SO₃ and toxic metals. In utilizing ash, the present invention, in contrast, utilizes what is normally a waste product or low value byproduct of the power plant in order to reduce the need to purchase supplemental reagents.

Another aspect of pollution control of carbonaceous-fuel-fired combustion systems, primarily coal-fired facilities, is the matter of protection of the selective catalytic reduction reactors (SCR's) from what has been referred to as “arsenic poisoning.” Experience has shown that typical catalyst life in systems burning a wide range of coals is only about three years. Not only is catalyst replacement expensive (amounting to millions of dollars) and an environmental disposal problem, but NO_(x) reduction performance deteriorates steadily over that time period. Many coals, particularly Eastern U.S. coals, contain significant amounts of arsenic. The arsenic in the coal forms gaseous As₂O₃ as one of the products of combustion, which causes a reduction in the activity of the catalyst for its intended purpose of reducing NO_(x) emissions

Because the replacement of SCR catalysts is an expensive undertaking, it is therefore desirable to capture as much of the gaseous As₂O₃ as solid particulates as is possible before the arsenic-based vapor comes into contact with the catalyst, and before it is emitted to and pollutes the environment. Catalyst suppliers currently recommend adding sufficient limestone, either as rock or as powder, on the coal supply belt to bring the CaO content of the ash to at least 3%. Depending upon the mineralogy of the ash, that can involve a considerable limestone addition rate, a significant feed system investment, and significant ash disposal problems.

When alkaline earth carbonates, such as CaCO₃ or MgCO₃ are introduced into the furnace in the slurry form as described earlier herein to provide the ultra-fine CaO and MgO particles for capturing SO₂ and SO₃, those particles are also useful for capturing the As₂O₃. Other compounds, such as those yielding ZnO upon thermal decomposition, can also be effective, but are likely to be more costly. But when CaO is utilized as the capture medium, a greater amount of reagent is required because of the propensity of CaO to also capture the SO₂. Thus, that portion of the CaO particles that effectively captures the SO₂ in the combustion products by combining with the SO₂ is therefore unavailable to react with the As₂O₃, resulting in a lower As₂O₃ capture effectiveness and a need to employ higher reagent dosages to protect the SCR catalyst than would be needed with MgO or other high-surface-area adsorbents. Similarly, the “overbased” form of reagent can be much more effective than the ground or precipitated types in capturing the toxic metals that are usually present in the ppb range, because of the far greater number of available reactive particles per pound. The choice of reagent type, or combinations thereof, is an economic decision based on whether the lower dosage of the overbase is sufficient to offset its 4 or 5 times higher cost per unit weight.

Unlike CaO, however, MgO does not readily capture SO₂. Consequently, when MgCO₃ or Mg(OH)₃ is introduced in slurry form to provide fine MgO particles, there is little competition for the MgO between the SO₂ and the toxic metals. As a result, the quantity of reagent required to capture the arsenic is orders of magnitude less with the magnesium compounds. That is true even though the chemical has the additional benefit of reducing fouling and ESP problems. Further, much of the SO₃ that is formed in the SCR will also be captured, which thereby serves to minimize the visible plume problem often incident to SCR/scrubber-equipped combustion systems. Thus, the choice between Ca and Mg for arsenic capture depends upon the plant's objective and the site conditions.

The foregoing describes methods for the control of emissions from fossil fuel combustion by the direct injection into a furnace of sorbents either in dry particulate or in slurry form, either separate from or combined with coal particles. The direct injection of sorbent separate from the coal and closer to the combustion zone than injection into the upper furnace, can occur through existing ports in the furnace wall, such as through the overfire air ports. However, the overfire air ports are above the combustion zone and are therefore not optimally located for the most efficient utilization of the sorbents for maximum emissions control. Also, furnace operation managers normally do not want to add additional ports in the furnace walls of existing furnaces, particularly for technology demonstration purposes because of the cool-down and shutdown times that are needed to do so will take the furnace offline for sometimes unacceptably lengthy downtimes. But in addition to the separate injection of appropriate pollutant-capturing sorbents directly into a furnace, either in dry form or as a slurry, improved emissions control can be achieved by the addition of the micronized sorbents directly to the fuel or combustion air flow of a coal-fired furnace, at a several points before the coal is introduced into the furnace combustion zone.

FIG. 12 shows an example of how one type of a typical conventional fuel supply system for a coal-fired boiler can be slightly modified to facilitate conversion of a high solids dispersion into discrete dry, deagglomerated particles and delivered into the boiler. The illustrated arrangement is an example, because the type of boiler, burner, coal mill, ducting, fan, and fuel will differ for each unit, and might necessitate minor adjustments to the illustrated arrangement. In FIG. 12, the conduits representing the interconnections to the several components of an existing fuel supply system are shown in solid line form. In such systems, raw coal from a coal supply source, typically as coal particles having a size of from about one half inch to about three inches, more or less, is provided and is stored in a raw coal bunker 10 shown in FIG. 12. For gravity flow of the coal particles, coal bunker 10 can be connected in overlying relationship with a coal mill or pulverizer 12, that serves for reducing the size of the as-supplied raw coal to smaller sized coal particles, typically having a particle size of from about one millimeter to about 75 microns, more or less. If the coal is wet, addition to the coal of between about 2% to 5% by weight of a suitable dispersant can be provided without causing problems in moving the coal to the coal mill and to the burners. The amount of dispersant will vary with climate and season, but ordinary wet coal problems can be reduced to avoid excessive wetness of the coal when utilized with the sorbent dispersions disclosed herein. An example of a suitable dispersant is RAMsorb™ organic polymer, available from RAM-3 Combustion Technologies, 8765 West Market Street, Greensboro, N.C. 27409.

Heated air at temperatures up to about 650° F. is supplied from the air heater 14 that is contained within the boiler and that is essentially a heat exchanger. Air heater 14 is located in a cooler region of the boiler to withdraw some of the heat from the combustion products in order to heat the incoming air that is subsequently introduced with the coal fuel into the combustion zone of the boiler. A forced draft fan 16 is provided upstream of air heater 14 on the air flow side to provide a forced flow of the heated air at a predetermined flow rate corresponding to the fuel to air ratio required for combustion of a specific fuel. The heated air then passes from the forced draft fan 16 through the air heater 14 to conduit 18 that is connected to a conduit junction 20 where the forced draft fan discharge flow is divided into a primary air stream that flows into a primary air conduit 22, and a secondary air stream that flows into a secondary air conduit 24. The discharge flow from air heater 14 is at a temperature of up to about 600° F., and, depending upon plant design, the primary air flow volume through primary air conduit 22 can be only a portion of the discharge flow volume from forced draft fan 16. The secondary air volume constitutes the balance of the discharge flow volume delivered by forced draft fan 16.

Because of the pressure drop that takes place within primary air conduit 22 downstream of air heater 14, an auxiliary primary air fan 26 that independently forces additional primary air to flow to the coal mill 12 can be provided to increase the primary air flow volume. The temperature of the primary air stream entering the coal mill 12 is controlled by an air temperature sensor 28 to provide a desired primary air stream temperature as required by the specific plant design. The introduction of a sufficient amount of lower temperature ambient air, or quench air, to mix with the heated primary air stream flowing within conduit 22 from forced draft fan 16, serves to maintain the primary air stream that enters the coal mill at a temperature below the autoignition temperature for the coal being fired, and above a lower temperature that is sufficient to provide a desired degree of drying of the moisture contained in the incoming coal as it is undergoes pulverization in the coal mill. The temperature of the primary air stream that is to be introduced into the coal mill is determined based upon an analysis of the moisture content of the coal that is contained within the raw coal bunker 10, and is selected to provide a desired degree of drying of the coal particles undergoing pulverization within the coal mill. After milling the raw coal to the desired particle size, the air and particulate output of the coal mill 12 is combined with a predetermined volume of air from the secondary air stream in conduit 24, and the two flow streams together are conveyed to the burners 64 at the boiler wall 58 of boiler 60 to be combusted within the primary combustion zone of the boiler.

The addition of a sorbent to the coal for emissions control at a point before the coal/air mixture enters the boiler is accomplished through an arrangement of the several additional components that are shown as one possible example in FIG. 12, and that are connected by the associated conduits that are represented by dashed lines in FIG. 12. An aqueous sorbent slurry that includes one or more of the sorbents described above is provided in a slurry-holding tank 30. A predetermined quantity of the slurry is withdrawn from slurry holding tank 30 and is conveyed by a slurry metering pump 32 through conduit 34 to a dryer/mill 36. The sorbent slurry is dried within dryer/mill 36, and the resulting dried particles are also deagglomerated within dryer/mill 36 to provide dried sorbent particles having the desired moisture content and having a sub-micron particle size, as is described above in the context of the sorbent particle sizes of the direct slurry injection method. The dried, reduced size, and deagglomerated sorbent particles flow from the dryer/mill 36 as a result of a quantity of the pressurized, heated air that is withdrawn from the primary air stream through conduit 38 by a booster fan 40, and it is then conveyed through conduit 42 to the inlet 44 of dryer/mill 36.

The output from dryer/mill 36 issues from outlet 46 and is divided into dried sorbent particle streams at conduit junction 48. A first dried sorbent particle stream is conveyed from conduit junction 48 to conduit 50 that is connected with conduit 53 that extends from primary air conduit 22 to inlet 54 of coal mill 12, to be combined with the reduced size coal particles that are produced within the coal mill. A second dried, reduced size, and deagglomerated sorbent particle stream is conveyed through bypass conduit 56 that extends from dryer/mill outlet 46 to conduit 52 that connects outlet 62 of coal mill 12 and a burner head 64 mounted at boiler wall 58.

Dryer/mills suitable for use in the system illustrated in FIG. 12 and described above are available from the Hosokawa Micron Powder Systems division of Hosokawa Micron Corporation, 10 Chatham Road, Summit, N.J. 07901, such as its Micron Drymeister flash dryer unit that combines drying, milling, and classifying in a single installation. Another source of suitable dryer/mills is the Fluid Energy Equipment Division of Fluid Energy Processing & Equipment Co., 4300 Bethlehem Pike, Telford, Pa. 18969, which markets Thermajet® flash drying processing units. A further type of dryer/mill can be one having the structure described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,188, entitled “Fluid Energy Drying and Grinding Mill.”

As a result of the example sorbent addition system shown in FIG. 12, dried, reduced size, and deagglomerated sorbent particles of sub-micron size are intimately intermixed with the reduced size pulverized coal particles in coal mill 12, to be conveyed to the burner heads for introduction through boiler wall 58 directly into burner heads 64 at the combustion zone of the boiler 60, and without the need to provide additional sorbent injection openings in the boiler wall. Additional dried, reduced size, deagglomerated sorbent particles are also provided through bypass conduit 56 to conduit 52 to flow directly to the burner heads 64 for introduction directly into the combustion zone in order to further encourage direct contact of the dried, sub-micron size, deagglomerated sorbent particles with the combustion products that are to be captured within the boiler for improved emissions control.

In addition to the desirability of capturing the arsenic to minimize catalyst poisoning, it is also desirable to capture the toxic metal mercury. The mercury that is present in the combustion products from Eastern coals is in the more readily captured salt form. In the Western coals, on the other hand, the mercury tends to be present in the more difficult-to-capture elemental form. One way to capture the mercury that is present in Western coals, as well as in low-chloride-content Eastern coals, is to introduce with the coal modest amounts of chloride, bromide, or of other oxidizing compounds, such as ozone or peroxides, to facilitate the mercury capture. The oxidation reaction allows the conversion of elemental mercury to a salt that can be captured in the dust collectors of the coal-fired plants.

The introduction of chlorides or other oxidizing compounds to the coal is especially desirable when Western U.S. coals are utilized, because they have a lower intrinsic chloride content. To date, most applications have involved adding the chloride on the coal supply belt. But the additional chloride can be more effectively provided by adding it to the carbonate dispersion discussed earlier, which is injected into the combustion zone of the furnace. Chloride can be introduced to increase the equivalent effective chloride level to approximate that in Eastern coals, about 0.5% chloride by weight of coal, but better distribution of the chloride in the gas stream in the combustion zone should achieve the mercury oxidation with less chemical than is needed to be applied to the coal supply belt. The chloride can also be added separately at the point of the slurry injection and in the form of a salt solution. For example, at the equivalent of a MgCl₂ addition rate of 500 ppm on coal, the MgCl₂ would be only about 0.8% of the weight of the CaCO₃ that would be needed to capture a significant amount of SO₂ at a Ca/S ratio of 1.5. Such a small amount could allow incorporation of the chloride salt in the dispersion without adversely impacting the stability of the carbonate dispersions. Including the chloride salt in the dispersion can also provide a modest degree of freeze protection.

On the other hand, the stability of the dispersion composition can be adversely impacted by the addition of chloride to the dispersion. One way to avoid a dispersion stability problem is not to incorporate the chloride in the dispersion directly, but to provide dual feeds to the injection ports, one feed being the carbonate dispersion and the other feed being the chloride. Another approach is to combine the carbonate dispersion with urea to be able to provide in a single solution a true multi-pollutant-capturing product. The combination will require a reformulation of the slurry to adjust for the incompatibility of the sodium-based dispersants and urea, and could necessitate a change from a sodium polyacrylate dispersant to another dispersant, such as ammonium polyacrylate, in order to assure a stable dispersion.

Whether the chloride is present in the fuel or is added as an alkaline chloride, it is needed to oxidize the Hg so it can be captured. However, the result is a byproduct of HCl vapor, which needs to be captured before discharging the flue gas. Since there is likely to be some competition for the calcium oxide between HCl and SO₃, SO₂, and Hg, if calcium is injected in the furnace for SO_(x) control, it is advisable to shift some part of the injection downstream to facilitate HCL capture, since CaCl₂ has been reported to be unstable at temperatures above 800° C.

It will therefore be apparent that the present invention provides significant flexibility and advantages in connection with the control and the capture of undesired SO_(x), NO_(x), and acids, as well as toxic metals emissions, when it is utilized in carbonaceous-fuel-fired combustion systems.

A first advantage of the present invention is that the practice of the disclosed invention results in a significant reduction of the discharge of undesirable pollutants. That reduction is achieved with relatively simple, relatively low cost equipment, and is effected within the furnace by the reaction of the pollutants with a particulate material, or the adsorption of the pollutants on the surface of a particulate material. The disclosed particulate materials that achieve the control of undesired emissions can be derived from limestone, calcium-containing wastes or byproducts, coal ash, magnesium-containing compounds, and combinations thereof. Those materials are relatively inexpensive, and their preparation as finely-sized dispersions in the manner described herein avoids the high costs associated with ultra-fine, dry grinding of limestone. Moreover, the pollutant removal efficiency provided by a large number of unagglomerated, very-finely-sized particles is not dependent upon the existence of particles having pores, as in some previously disclosed approaches. And as earlier noted, the pores of such porous particles can easily become plugged, which thereby reduces the overall effective surface area of the particles for reaction by limiting the access of the gaseous or vaporized pollutants to the inner core regions of the porous particles. Because of the resultant reduction of available overall effective porous particle surface area, the pollutant capture effectiveness of such previous processes is significantly reduced.

A second advantage of the disclosed invention is that it results in increased combustion efficiency and reduced CO₂ emissions from combustion systems lacking environmental controls. Consequently, the quantity of unburned carbon that is otherwise normally contained in the ash is reduced by the reflectivity of the cloud of oxide particles released by injection of the finely ground reagent dispersion. And the combustion process requires less excess combustion air, thereby reducing NO_(x) emissions. It also results in minimizing ash fouling in the furnace, as well as reducing the deposition of ammonium bisulfite or sulfuric acid in the air preheater.

A third advantage of the disclosed invention is that it provides a low-capital-cost process that permits economical stripping of SO_(x) and toxic metal pollutants from combustion gas streams. It also enhances combustion while controlling the other pollutants. Furthermore, the resulting combustion gas stream cleanup can be achieved with fewer undesirable side effects, such as hard-to-handle ash deposits, overburdened dust collectors, visible stack plumes and the like; and the hard piping and safety devices required when overbased compounds (oil-based magnesium compounds) are therefore rendered unnecessary.

A fourth advantage of the disclosed invention is that the application of the furnace sorbent injection processes described herein serve to capture substantially all of the gases that result in condensable acids that are produced as a result of the combustion process. The capture of the condensable acids results in collectable solids that are collected in the dust collector that is present in such combustion systems. Additionally, because of the capture of the condensable acids the flue gases can be exhausted at lower temperatures, which results in higher system overall thermal efficiency, saving the system operator a fuel saving of about 5% to about 7%, with a corresponding reduction in CO₂ emissions. And the enabled cooling of the flue gases can result in condensation of the moisture the gases contain, which reduces the volume of the flue gases, and thereby the power requirements of the induced draft fan. Further, the condensed moisture can be recovered from the flue gases as water for power plant use or for sale to others, such as nearby natural-gas-well fracking systems. The amount of water that can be recovered varies with the type of coal that is utilized as the fuel, but it can be in the range of from about 100 gallons to about 250 gallons per ton of coal that is fired. Finally, the reduced flue gas volume functions to increase the operating efficiency of a downstream scrubber since the reduce flue gas volume is washed by a constant volume of liquor, and thus the liquid to flue gas ratio is increased.

In summary, the disclosed invention provides new, more effective furnace sorbent injection methods that can be combined with other pollution control techniques as process enhancements.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is therefore intended to encompass within the appended claims all such changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for controlling combustion system emissions from combustion systems in which a carbonaceous-fuel is combusted, said process comprising the steps of: introducing a carbonaceous fuel and air into a furnace to provide a combustible fuel/air mixture and combusting the fuel/air mixture at a furnace combustion region to provide combustion products in the form of flue gases containing pollutant compounds including SO_(x), NO_(x), Hg, As, and CO₂, wherein the temperature within the furnace combustion region is from about 2500° F. to about 3000° F.; introducing into the furnace combustion region an alkaline-earth-metal-containing reagent to expose the reagent to the furnace combustion region temperature to thereby calcine the reagent within the furnace combustion region into a plurality of alkaline-earth-metal oxide particles to provide a scavenging agent in particulate form for scavenging combustion product components, wherein the alkaline-earth-metal oxide particles are in the form of a plurality of discrete, substantially non-agglomerated alkaline-earth-metal oxide particles having a particle size of less than about 3 microns; contacting the alkaline-earth-metal oxide particles with the combustion products to react the alkaline-earth-metal oxide particles with pollutants contained in the combustion products to capture SO_(x), NO_(x), and toxic metals that are present in the combustion products; and transporting the flue gases and particles from the combustion region and through the furnace to a furnace exit.
 2. A process in accordance with claim 1, including the step of preparing the alkaline-earth-metal-containing reagent by providing a solution containing soluble alkaline-earth-metal-containing compounds.
 3. A process in accordance with claim 1 for controlling combustion system emissions from combustion systems in which a carbonaceous-fuel is combusted, whereby the melting point of ash produced by combustion of the carbonaceous fuel is raised, and slagging and fouling of heat exchange surfaces and of furnace internal surfaces is reduced as compared with combustion systems in which no calcium-containing reagent is introduced into the furnace combustion region.
 4. A process in accordance with claim 1 for controlling combustion system emissions from combustion systems in which a carbonaceous fuel is combusted, whereby ash produced by combustion of the carbonaceous fuel contains less than about 5% of unburned carbon.
 5. A process in accordance with claim 4 including the steps of: withdrawing from ash collection hoppers alkaline-earth-metal-containing ash resulting from combustion of the carbonaceous fuel; reducing the alkaline-earth-metal containing ash to particles having a particle size of at most about one micron; and introducing the ash particles into the furnace combustion region.
 6. A process in accordance with claim 1 for controlling combustion system emissions from combustion systems in which a carbonaceous-fuel is combusted, said process including the step of: milling an alkaline-earth-metal-containing coal to provide micron-sized particles to serve as an alkaline-earth-metal-containing reagent.
 7. A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein the alkaline-earth-metal oxide particles have a particle size of from about 70 nanometers to about 400 nanometers. 